Chapter 38
Dance with Undershaft phase.2 is the 38th chapter of the manga and the second chapter of the Dance with Undershaft Arc. How R met George Black as well as the roots of Hex and Koko Hekmatyar's mutual hatred for each other is revealed. Title page R during the . Summary While making a delivery in Bosnia Herzegovina Koko Hekmatyar realises that they may be lost and the convoy halts. While the directions are sorted out Jonah admires the scenery and R tells him that a few years before he wa born it was the largest European war zone since . Jonah suggests that the country's beauty was what was fought over. The scene flashes back to R's time in the Bersaglieri, when he was an intelligence sergeant working with the locals in Bosnia during the Bosnian War. He was summoned by a superior officer and introduced to George Black, then a CIA . The two then began working together and R functioned as one of George's intelligence sources, deciding to nickname him "Saw". His intelligence helped bring many suspected s to justice and he found that George lived up to his nickname of Burattinaio or " ", as he skilfully manipulated his many intelligence assets. When the in Country T began executing civilians suspected of being spies, a local family that was one of R's sources was in danger and he rushed to secure them. However when he got to their house they were in the process of being taken away by a U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk. George, who was on the scene, then emphasised to him that the value of intelligence lay in its speed before inviting him to work for him full time. Since then, although his life as a member of Koko's Squad has been a lie, R realises that he cannot betray George. At CIA headquarters George studies Hex's file. A graduate of , she was selected for and passed the a member of the 3rd Special Operations Group, Wide Range Communications Platoon, an all-female U.S. Army Special Forces unit. Although officially terminated because of its high washout rate, the real reasons were believed to be political. Instead of accepting a promotion and staying in the Army, Hex resigned and was afterwards recruited by George. After her fiance was killed in the , she was stationed in Afghanistan, where she carried out orders to hunt terrorists that were barely legal. George reflects that despite her patriotism Hex should have been brought in. She is part of Operation Undershaft as she would have otherwise killed Koko along with the terrorists. George then calls Hex and asks her if she has sent assassins to kill Koko. She denies having done so despite bad blood between them going back to Eastern Europe and feigns surprise that Koko is the focus of Operation Undershaft. George then orders her to keep it that way before hanging up. Despite this Hex plans to strike at Koko without killing her and her computer is shown to have information pulled up on Jonah. A flashback then shows a younger Hex engaged in a night mission targeting Koko. After one of her fellow soldiers was killed while trying to deploy a smoke grenade to thwart a sniper, Hex reminded herself that as an arms dealer Koko is a terrorist and rallied her unit. After noticing a blood trail on some leaves she was confronted by a member of Koko's Squad who vowed that she would not get Koko. Hex then awakens and observes that she still cannot sleep when the moon is full. A younger Koko is then shown running with Valmet and panicking, causing Valmet to stop. Echo then came across them and promised to protect Koko and not just for the pay. She was alarmed that he had been hit but he told her that in return she had to stop screaming and crying and instead smile, which was how a boss should be. Back in the present Koko observes that she has trouble sleeping when the moon is full. Anime and manga differences *The angle of R reporting to his commander is different. The commander has a different appearance and enters his truck from a different angle. *George is shown meeting with one of his other sources. *R is shown meeting with the family he used as a source. The Black Hawk is shown flying away. *Most of the photo of the 3rd Special Operations Group, Wide Range Communications Platoon is shown. *A CIA recruiter approaches Hex before George speaks to Hex. *The shot of the is different and Hex's reaction to learning the news of the attacks is shown. She is shown in the field with two of her men when George mentions that she went to Afghanistan, a scene which occurred in the previous chapter but involved them going to the black site. *Hex wears a different shirt when George calls her which shows more of her cleavage. *The intelligence photos of Jonah on Hex's computer are different. *The sniper shot that draws Hex's attention hits the tree near her head. Lauren's finger being blown off by the shot that takes out the smoke grenade is not as explicit. *A second of Hex's squad members is not shown being hit through the smokescreen. More of her squad is shown responding when she rallies them. *Echo is shown confronting Hex with the episode adding him about to shoot her and her response. The angle of her waking up from her dream is different. *Valmet slaps Koko. Debut appearances *Lauren Trivia *Koko's promise to Echo is mentioned earlier by Lehm in Chapter 33. Category:Volume 7 38